Siege

Atop the hive city's wall.

Ork Boyz swarmed along the battlements, their coarse skin glinting dull green in the sunlight. They hauled all sorts of modified Big Booms and Big Choppas, clustered in twos and threes, letting out crude laughter and jeers.

"Oi, look at that city down there—like a kicked-over squig nest!"

A Shoota Boy lugging a big shoota cackled, his eyes brimming with schadenfreude. "Them lads are scramblin' like headless grox. Bet some unlucky git poked somethin' he shouldn't've."

Beside him, a squat, burly Choppa Boy leaned over to peer inside the wall. Flames and thick smoke billowed from the hive city. "Who knows? Maybe a nest o' beasties crawled up from the cracks."

He scratched his furry chin, baring sharp fangs. "Just heard a Gretchin say it saw some blue thingy slap a Heavy Boss flat with one paw. Looked proper Waaagh!"

"Wotever it is, you believe a Gretchin's yap?"

A massive Heavy Boss stomped past, cutting off the two boys' chatter. "If you got time to gab, get yer eyes peeled and stand guard proper!"

"This wall's so high it pokes the sky. Them soft-skinned Shrimp ain't climbin' up unless they sprouted wings like them runts said—the ones who ran off with their tails between their legs!"

The Shoota Boy just grinned, unbothered.

The other Choppa Boy nodded in agreement, about to chime in, when the corner of his eye caught the distant skyline.

His pupils shrank. His grimy finger trembled as he pointed. His voice cracked: "Wait... wot... wot's that?!"

The Ork Boss and the Shoota Boy followed his gaze. A second later, only sheer horror remained on their faces.

On the far horizon, a plume of yellow smoke shot skyward. Within it surged a tide of steel!

Hundreds of tanks rolled in perfect formation, treads grinding the earth into a deafening roar.

Their thick armor gleamed cold in the sunlight, cannons aimed at the heavens like hungry beasts bearing down on the hive city.

"No... impossible!"

The Shoota Boy shrieked, disbelief dripping from his voice. "Them Shrimp gone mad? How dare they?!"

"Quick! Get every lad movin'!"

The Ork Boss snapped back, eyes bloodshot as he roared, "Open fire! Blast 'em! Turn them clueless Shrimp into scrap!"

Ear-splitting alarms blared across the wall.

Ork Boyz scrambled to their defenses. Black gun muzzles swung around, locking onto the steel tide.

The next instant, shells rained down like a storm, shrieking across the sky. Heavy booms spat a dense web of fire, hosing the tank column.

"BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!"

Explosions thundered in succession.

Flames leaped. Smoke churned.

But the scene the Ork Boss expected—tanks blown to bits—never came.

Those shells slammed into the Super-heavy Tanks' thick armor with dull crashes, sparking showers of flame.

The steel tide kept advancing. Treads chewed through scorched earth, picking up speed like an unstoppable mudslide closing on the hive gate.

"Damn it!"

The Ork Boss raged, yanking a communicator from his coat. "Artillery! Fire now! Dump every shell we got!"

But the voice on the other end was panicked: "Boss! Can't! Ya forgot? The big guns just went dead! Gotta wait for 'em to come back..."

"Wot?!"

The Ork Boss's gut sank.

Just then, the steel tide halted.

A short distance from the wall, the tank column stopped. Dozens of thick barrels lifted, aiming at the towering iron ramparts.

The Ork Boss sneered.

Stupid gits. Think a Void Shield's that easy to crack?

The next second, the tank muzzles blazed with blinding light.

Shells streaked through the air, howling toward the wall.

But instead of being swallowed by the Void Shield, they detonated just before impact.

The shells burst midair—no shockwave, just thick clouds of smoke that spread fast with the wind.

In moments, a dense fog blanketed the entire wall. White haze, visibility less than a meter.

"Wot the zog?!"

The Ork Boss scowled.

"Can't see? Who cares!"

He steadied himself, bellowing at his boys, "Keep blind-firin'! Suppressin' fire! Don't let them Shrimp get close!"

The Ork Boyz' hearts raced, but they obeyed, blasting wildly into the murk.

The Ork Boss narrowed his eyes, his brain spinning at full speed.

He was a greenskin boss from the Blood Axe Clan, unlike those fools who only knew how to brawl—he understood how to restrain his impulses and win through cunning.

"Smoke... what are those Shrimps trying to do, kicking up all this smoke?"

The Ork Boss muttered to himself, "We can still shoot. Are they trying to climb up through the smoke? No way, this wall's too high..."

But soon, he no longer needed to ponder that question.

A faint smell of ozone quietly spread through the air.

Then, a crackling sound of electrical discharge rang out from within the smoke.

"What's going on?!"

The Ork Boss snapped to alertness, gripping the Chainsword Axe at his waist and barking, "Who's there?!"

The next moment, figures clad in gray-black power armor emerged like phantoms atop the wall from within the smoke.

They stood tall, their Power Swords gleaming with cold light, their dark Bolter muzzles and Assault Cannons baring a menacing edge.

"It's, it's the Shrimps' cans!"

An Ork screamed in terror.

"No good, it's a Warp teleport..."

The Ork Boss's pupils abruptly contracted.

Before he could even react, a flash of sword light had already passed.

"Shhk—"

The crisp sound of a blade slicing through flesh rang out.

The Ork Boss's body froze in place. He looked down at the deep, bone-exposing wound across his chest, blood gushing out like a fountain.

The next second, his massive frame crashed to the ground.

Leonardo withdrew his Power Sword. A few drops of blood stained his golden Terminator Armor, yet it did nothing to diminish its majesty.

He swept his gaze over the panicked Ork Boyz on the wall, his voice flat but carrying an undeniable chill:

"Kill. Leave none alive."

The moment the words fell, the cold gleam of the blade flashed again.

Amid the roar of Bolters and the shrill screams of the Ork Boyz, the Astartes purged the Xenos from the wall with ruthless efficiency.

And the control system for the Hive City's massive gate was naturally breached without exception.

Under the Astartes' control, the thick steel doors slowly swung open.

The tide of steel beneath the wall immediately surged forward, rolling once more toward the breached gate.